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BeautyMarch 06, 2013

NOTD: matte black and pale pink with studs and bows

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I’ve been raving about this matte and super talon-y manicure aka nails of the day (NOTD) on Instagram. I did not DIY these (per usual), I instead got them done at ES Nail – the talented Japanese nail art salon to which I sometimes treat myself. I chose pale pink and black to use with a matte gel topcoat which I’d been wanting to try for a while. I chose to do a mix of 3D spikes and Swarovski crystals on one finger (on each hand) and a crystal bow charm on the one matte black nail – I love juxtapositions – matte black and girly bows!

In lieu of a how-to, here are some DIY tidbits/inside info I can share with you about this particular look…

the length of my nails is naturally long, because I do gel manicures all the time, but not this long – this length is obtained with nail-glued on, plastic nail tip extensions that are secured with the layers of UV cured gel polish over – they stay put! I had them file the extension tips into a “stiletto” nail shape which they did before they apply the layers of polish. I wanted to go super long to see what is was like…it’s fun…but hard to pick my nose.

the matte finish is a matte gel topcoat. You can get a matte topcoat for regular polish, I have yet to find a matte gel topcoat (if you guys have any brands let me know!)

the larger of the 3d nail art gems are made to stay put like WOAH with a dot of acrylic (the kind of acrylic powder/liquid mix used to make acrylic nails). The acrylic acts as a crazy-strong glue which keeps the bow charms stuck to your nails, no matter what! the smaller 3D, like the gems, are made to stay-put with a thick layer of clear gel polish (like I demo here). The charms that are stuck on with acrylic have to be snipped off with a cuticle clipper and sometimes softened with a soak in some acetone…point is, they stay so well you have to work to get them off!